The state’s inaction gave Oxford what looks to be its last chance under state law: a judicial review. San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge David S. Cohn is scheduled to take up the matter June 23. If he rules against Oxford Prep, the Chino campus is set to shut down June 30. Oxford’s two Orange County campuses, which are chartered under districts there, are unaffected.

Oxford Preparatory Academy uses various college fight songs instead of bells between classes. For this last week of school, students changed classes to the sounds of the University of Michigan fight song, “The Victors.”

But OPA’s future is far from certain, leaving students, parents, teachers and staff in limbo: Is school out for summer or forever?

“OPA’s been like a second family to us, so it’s sad,” seventh-grader Raul Tabares said Monday. “You’re going to have that doubt for two weeks, wondering if the school is going to make it.”

A TROUBLED PAST

“In January, it just hit me: It hadn’t even been a year since this all began,” kindergarten teacher Deanna Campagna said Monday. “And it felt like 10 (years).”

Founded in 2010 by former Chino Valley Unified principal Sue Roche, Oxford Preparatory Academy had a warm relationship with the district at first. Superintendent Wayne Joseph urged the CVUSD school board to approve its initial charter and then its first charter renewal request.

A second, independent audit, commissioned by Oxford, showed Edlighten still controlled $900,000 in Oxford funds as of late 2016, according to Joseph.

Based on the state FCMAT audit, the district attorneys of San Bernardino and Orange counties are considering potential criminal charges. Despite cutting ties with Roche and resubmitting the charter renewal request, OPA faced another round of rejections.

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

“I have a little girl in first grade who asked me if they’re just going to come tomorrow with a bulldozer and knock the school down,” first-grade teacher Stacy Rook said Monday. “That’s how they think about it.”

Although all the teachers interviewed for this report said they don’t bring up the impending closure of the school unless students do, they said students already know about Oxford Prep’s uncertain future from their parents.

Oxford administrators told teachers and staff to begin looking for other work, just in case, back in November, after the Chino Valley Unified school board turned down OPA’s renewal request for a second time.

“What am I going to do? Probably commute to the other OPA schools” in Orange County, said Campagna, a 20-year veteran of the public school system before helping to draft the OPA charter. “Because I just can’t see doing anything else.”

Rook has been going to job interviews to teach in other schools and other districts.

“It’s very difficult, because I know I’m a good teacher and I know where I should be,” she said. “And it’s very difficult to think that, because of mistakes that people have made, it’s going to be gone. It doesn’t even make sense.”

Eighth-grade teacher Stephenette Graham is hoping to land a job in Chino Valley Unified.

“If my kids are going to be dispersed in this district, then I need to be there for them,” she said Monday. “Whether that’s being hired in this district so I can be at a school where they can see my face or see someone familiar. Because they’re going to have to go through some challenges and they’re going to have to adjust and they’re not going to see those familiar faces any more.”

But that doesn’t mean the job hunt is easy or fun.

“I told them, ‘Put me in one of your lower-rated schools, put a bunch of us there, and we will turn your school around,’ ” Rook said she told Chino Valley Unified interviewers. “And I didn’t get anything back.”

‘HOPING FOR THE BEST’

The process is just as frustrating for Oxford parents interviewed.

“Alicia Cortez (Elementary) was out of the picture for us. ‘There is no way.’ It’s the lowest-performing school in Chino Valley Unified School District,” said Mindi Moon, mother of three Oxford students, one of whom has Tourette’s syndrome, on Monday. “And it’s the only option I have for my son. It’s terrifying.”

“I have no other options,” said Raquel Diaz, the mother of three Oxford students. “I’m sticking to the end, hoping for the best. As of our now, our Plan B is home-school, even though I’d rather they just be here.”

“I can’t afford private school,” said Nicole Suit, the mother of two Oxford students, one of whom has autism, on Monday. “They said, ‘Well, we can take him in, but we don’t really cater to special needs.’ He has a one-on-one aide, and they said, ‘Well, you can pay for the aide out of your own pocket.’ The school’s already $8,000 to $10,000 and aides (cost) from $10 to $15 per hour. That wasn’t an option, so my hands are tied. So what do you do? I don’t know.”

That the Chino campus might be closed, despite everything the school community has done to respond to the concerns of the state FCMAT audit and Chino Valley Unified, doesn’t sit well with those interviewed.

“Yes, it was a huge mistake, but it wasn’t the kids,” Suit said. “It’s not their fault. It wasn’t the parents’ fault. It wasn’t the teachers’ fault. We’ve made all the changes (requested) and then some. So now we just have to have faith that (the judge is) going to make the right decision.”

Wednesday afternoon, parents and 1,200 students streamed out past a sign that read “We Love OPA.” Now the Oxford community has to hold its breath for 1 1/2 weeks to learn its fate.

“There’s that uncertainty that says, ‘Yes, we still have a chance, we still have a chance,’” Graham said. “But there’s a part of me that says, ‘I want to get off this roller coaster.’”

If Cohn rules against Oxford Prep, the Chino campus will close its doors permanently June 30.

Beau Yarbrough wrote his first newspaper article taking on an authority figure (his middle school principal) when he was in 7th grade. He’s been a professional journalist since 1992, working in Virginia, Egypt and California. In that time, he’s covered community news, features, politics, local government, education, the comic book industry and more. He’s covered the war in Bosnia, interviewed presidential candidates, written theatrical reviews, attended a seance, ridden in a blimp and interviewed both Batman and Wonder Woman (Adam West and Lynda Carter). He also cooks a mean pot of chili.